A conventional ball-catching device as shown in FIG. 7 includes a base C clamped or held on a putter shaft S and a plurality of pawls P for catching a golf ball when rolled into the hole, which however has the following drawbacks:
1. The pawl P has an acute end portion easily injuring the golfer or breaking the golf bag when stored into the bag.
2. The pawls P are divergently formed on the catching device with a fixed form and can not be folded or retracted. The divergent pawls may scratch the golfer""s clothes or may influence his or her putting action.
3. The base portion C is formed as a fixed dimension and not suitable for the putters with different sizes.
The present inventor has found the drawbacks of the conventional golf-ball catching device and invented the present catching device with much improvement.
The object of the present invention is to provide a golf-ball catching device including: an adapter detachably secured on a putter shaft, a fastener formed on the adapter for firmly fastening the adapter on the putter shaft, a chuck with plural pawls and fixed on the adapter, and a clutch member movably held on the chuck; whereby upon disengagement of the clutch member from the chuck to open the pawls of the chuck, the golfer may hold the putter to allow the pawls to be inserted into the hole of a putting green for picking up the golf ball without bending his or her body; and upon engagement of the clutch member with the chuck, the pawls of the chuck may be closed or retracted for a safe ergonomic putting or for a convenient safe storage into a golf bag.